The Marshall County Commissioners held a public hearing Monday morning to gather public input on the reestablishment of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund at the maximum rate.
The Cumulative Capital Development Fund has existed in the budget for many years, but the current rate is $.0167 per $100 of assessed valuation which covers a few capital costs. Commissioner Kurt Garner stated that the increase of $.0333 per $100 of assessed valuation means $16.40 per $100,000 of assessed value. If the typical homeowner has a mortgage exemption and homestead credit, it comes to about $5.50 a year.
The commissioners attempted to pass this measure last year, but the process wasn’t completed.
Two farmers spoke out against the tax increase stating that it affects them a little more than the “regular taxpayer”. They asked the commissioners to keep them in consideration when moving forward with the ordinance to establish the higher rate.
The pair also asked what the tax increase would do for the county. Commission President Kevin Overmyer said the fund now is used to pay for computer software costs. The money generated with this increase would help the highway department with equipment costs as the highway department is constantly losing money.
Commissioner Garner said approximately $412,000 will initially come into the fund. While $320,000 is spoken for by the highway department for equipment purchases and leases, Garner noted that this will take strain off of the other line items in the budget to free up more money for roads.
Information gathered by Highway Administrator Laurie Baker revealed that in 2015 the county operated on $828,896.25 and in 2017 the county is projected to operate on $771,382.38 from the state.
Commissioner Kurt Garner stated that he doesn’t want to raise taxes, but it is a positive solution to assist county residents.
“We’re so woefully underfunded at the highway department that we can’t do better unless we have more capital going into this,” said Garner. “I’m just like you guys and I don’t want to pay any more taxes, but there comes a time where you’ve got to reinvest in your infrastructure and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Commissioner Mike Delp said something needs to be done to improve roads.
“I think we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got, but there is room for improvement,” commented Delp. “I think we’re trying to be efficient with our funds right now. We’ve got to take care of quite a few bridges coming up. It’s obvious to me that we need to start chipping away at this to fund it.”
Commissioner Kevin Overmyer noted that funding has changed dramatically since he was first elected to the board years ago.
“I remember when I first came into office our county highway was doing 150 miles of chip and seal a year. Now today we can 30 to 50 miles of chip and seal. Our costs continually go up and we continually keep getting less and less from the state. I think we have to do something,” stated Overmyer.
The commissioners did unanimously approve the first reading of the ordinance that reestablishes the maximum rate of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund at $.0333 per $100 of assessed valuation. The second and third readings could be approved at the next commissioner’s meeting on April 17.
